The White Skull: Rise of a Legend
by lynzylu
Summary: Takes place in Canada in 2131. The zombie apocalypse is still happening in the world, but in British Columbia, a small base against the Infected has been formed. Two teens that had their parents killed by zombies escaped the fire of their residence in an orphanage and stumbled across this place. They train to end the end of the world. Rated M for extreme bad language and violence
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, everyone. Again. I have again another story up when I haven't even finished my other three, but I had so much inspiration for this. The original creator of this story is an author called Bigfoot02, but I turned it into this story before he created his account. I still have his full permission to write this story, and he's helping me out since he knows this world far better than I do. I have never watched The Walking Dead, but this is located in Canada in the far future. So please, just don't pay any mind to the differences between this story and the show, and enjoy the first chapter of this new zombie apocalypse story, which is very far out of my usual comfort zone of fantasy videogames and anime.**

**Welcome To The Base**

-In the very far future-  
Listen closely, one and all. I am about to tell you a legend even greater than that of Zeus destroying the Titans. A story of a mere mortal. A mere mortal who did things that no other has done. If not for him, we would not be here right now. Why don't they tell you this in history class these days? Because it is a dreadful story, filled with insanity and gore. But one must hear it in order to truly be grateful to this mighty hero. So listen closely...

Long ago, as we should all know, the dreaded Zombie Apocalypse took place. Though "apocalypse" means the end of the world, for some in a secluded area of British Columbia, Canada, it was just the beginning of a new world. A new world where no one was safe until they completed their mission to purge the world of the undead. Well, that's what the Church says anyways. Really, they just wanted to be able to lead normal lives again. All of them who lived in that secluded area.

xXxXxXxXx

-In the far future-

Two kids- Well, teenagers, one boy and one girl, walked through the woods together. They kept two sets of eyes on the surrounding areas, and all ears open for any noise. Not unarmed, of course. Not out here, and not during these darks days. Had more areas been inhabited by actual living people, they may not have taken to the forests. But the undead inhabited almost every area nearby, and they tended to stay in those areas, so the woods seemed like their best option. It wasn't the walking or the staying alert that was the problem here, though. They hasn't thought to bring anything with them, and they were starting to get hungry. Sure, they could hunt. But there were no animals. And none of the plants looked very safe to eat. Not a sound. The boy, much taller than the girl, turned to walk backwards and keep an eye out behind them. The girl was looking off the the side. Until they both ran into something cold, flat and solid. They turned, and saw a big metal wall towering before them. The girl clung to the boy's arm.

"Brandon, what is this?" She asked. The girl's name was Lyndsey Peck. And despite that she was older than the boy, who's name was Brandon Peck, by a few months, she treated him like an older brother. He understood why though, and accepted it. Though his experience was bad, hers had been worse. Brandon had lived in a simple house, with a simple family. But of course, there were zombies everywhere, and eventually, they infected his parents when he was eight. He had been forced to kill them and ran away. He ended up in an orphanage for kids and teens who's parents had been killed by the Infected. Though having to kill your own parents was bad, it was self-defence. Lyndsey's experience had been FAR worse.

It was a normal day at her house, and the zombies never bothered her family. They barely even came around. But one day, they decided to. They swarmed the house, and her parents hid their daughter in the closet with her father's pressurized pistol in her hands. They had killed all the Infected, and were just coming to get Lyndsey when they were struck down by two survivors. Through the crack in the closet door, the young eight year old girl had been forced to watch her parents be eaten by the zombies, until she became so hysterical she burst from her hiding place and blew both the zombies' heads clean off. Then she ran, ending up in the same orphanage as Brandon.

She had become selectively mute after her experience, but still became quite close to Brandon. Though she didn't speak, he understood everything she ever tried to say with her facial expressions and body language. Eventually, they became so close that Lyndsey began to actually speak to him. But to no one else. They would refuse to leave each others' side since the day the young mute arrived, and eventually she changed her last name to his in order to eradicate the horror of her memory. They began addressing each other as "Brother" and "Sister" though never making references to their age differences. One day several years later the two had been instructed to go out for water. They did so, but when they returned, the entire orphanage had been set ablaze. No one had survived the accident. They found firearms nearby in a locked storage (in which Lyndsey had skillfully picked the lock of) and ran. And now they were here, standing before a giant metal wall. Not a very thick wall, but still, a big wall.

"I don't know. But it doesn't look friendly." Brandon replied.

"Maybe we should look around. See what we can find. Who knows, maybe there are other survivors?"

"Or maybe there's a bunch of Infected." Lyndsey almost hit him. But being the timid girl she was, she didn't.

"Please, Brandon?"

"Fine." And so they followed the wall around for quite some time until they spotted a fence. Hiding behind the wall, Lyndsey looked around through the fence, since she was less likely to be seen, and had a faster reaction time. She saw people in uniforms everywhere, and was relieved that they were actual people and not Infected.

There were mostly people in greenish-brown combats, with different coloured skull patches sewn onto their right shoulders, and rectangles on the left ones. The rectangles came in three colours: bronze, silver, and gold. The skulls came in six colours: green, red, blue, gold, black, and white. The people with the combats wore green, red, and blue skulls, and whatever colour rectangles, but usually only bronze, and a few silvers. The people with the gold skulls wore the same combats, but clearly with bulletproof vests underneath the jackets and shin padding in the pants. There were more silver rectangles on them, and a few gold ones, but less bronze ones. The people with the black skulls wore black police uniforms. The only reason you could see their patches was because of a white outside, and the eyes were white. The people with the white skulls wore full SWAT-like gear.

Unfortunately, she saw a person in the SWAT gear glance at her. She whipped her head back behind the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. Her companion did the same. They heard the fence shake, and someone hitting the ground. Then they heard someone pulling back the hammer on a pistol. Their eyes shut even tighter as they waited to die.

xXxXxXxXx

"What do you think you're doing here?" An older teen's voice asked. The two opened their eyes, and to Lyndsey's surprise, the person before them wasn't the person who saw her. It was a tall boy in combats, with a red skull and a bronze rectangle. She looked to Brandon. And he explained.

"Our home got burned down. We were the only survivors, so we took to the woods hoping to avoid the Infected that live in formerly inhabited areas. Then we came across this wall and traveled around until we found the fence. And now here we are." He told the boy with the gun. He didn't dare lie. The stranger looked over the two runaways. They were by no means out of shape, but they were a compete mess. Their clothes were worn and tattered, and the girl's light brown hair, that went down just past her shoulders, had sticks and other debris in it. They were malnourished and sleep deprived. The boy had a round face, with rather short dark brown hair, and was almost as tall as the boy in combats. The girl had a more angled face, but it was still kinda round, and she was short. 4'4 or 4'5, the guy decided.

"... Come with me." He said after a while. He opened the fence gate and motioned for the two to enter. They did so.

"I know it's pretty high, but I don't think they should have this fence." Lyndsey whispered to Brandon.

"You're right." He replied. They followed the boy who could've killed them into a fairly wide building. He turned down several hallways before finally stopping at a door. He knocked, and they all heard a muffled voice call from inside. This was a very thick door. The boy opened it, and motioned again for the two to enter. A very official looking man in a genuine military uniform sat at a desk.

xXxXxXxXx

"Commander, we found these two outside the wall looking into the base. They claim to be survivors of a fire." Their rather cruel escort reported.

"Is that right? Well, good work Red Skull Large. Now back to your training." This "Commander" person ordered.

"Yes sir." The boy, who's name was Large? left the room.

"What are your names, kids?" The official looking man asked. Naturally, Brandon answered.

"I'm Brandon Peck, and this is my sister Lyndsey."

"So, you're survivors of a fire?"

"Yes. It was the orphanage for kids and teenagers who's parents were killed by the zombies."

"Oh yeah? And where was that?"

"Pretty far away from Dawson Creek."

"And how have you to been walking for?"

"About eighteen hours."

"_Eighteen hours_?" The Commander almost choked on the words.

"Somewhere around there."

"And what about her? Why hasn't she said anything?" The man pointed at Lyndsey.

"She doesn't talk to anyone but me. Her experience was very traumatizing."

"I see..." The military-sort guy thought for a moment. "You've got nowhere to go?" He asked.

"No."

"Well then you can stay here and train with us. You'll receive your uniforms and Green Skull patches in the morning. Now go into the mess hall and eat something. I'll get someone to take you there. Then you'll be placed into the Green Skull barracks." Something about the way he said "Green Skull" told them it would be spelled with capital letters at the beginning of each word. But nonetheless, the two nodded as the man called in for an escort. Soon, the boy named Large entered the room. And he led them out.

xXxXxXxXx

"So is your name really Large?" Brandon asked.

"That's my last name. My first name is Carson." He answered.

"Oh, that makes more sense now."

"So who are you guys?"

"My name is Brandon Peck. This is Lyndsey Peck."

"I see. So you're siblings?"

"Not by blood. It's just that Lyndsey had a really bad experience before she met me, so she changed her last name."

"Is that why she doesn't talk?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well, here we are. Go in and eat. Then I'll take you down to the barracks." So they did. They got their food on trays and sat down at a table. They were joined quickly by their escort.

"So you're a Red Skull?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah. That's one rank above Green Skull, which is the beginning rank. Then it goes Blue Skull, Gold Skull, Black Skull, and finally, White Skull." Carson explained.

"You'd figure that Gold Skull would be the top rank, not White Skull."

"Yeah, this place is a little weird. But I thinks it's the White Skulls that actually make it weird."

"Why do you say that?"

"They're all partially insane."

"No way."

"I'm serious. They're crazy. They beat the crap out of each other then walk away laughing as if its nothing."

"Whoa."

"I agree." Meanwhile during this conversation, Lyndsey was looking out the window watching that very thing. Two White Skulls were fighting each other without mercy. There were cheap shots and punches that would normally break bones. But when they finished, they weren't even panting. They just high-fived, laughed as if they were having a great time, and walked away. Lyndsey was in shock.

"Hey, you okay Sis?" Brandon asked, pulling her back into the mess hall. She nodded. "Okay. So we just wear combats and burn zombies, basically?" He went back to his conversation.

"Yup. You're the cleanup. So are we, and the Blue Skulls, but we have a few more actual missions rather than just that." Large explained.

"I see. So you just rank up from Green to Blue by your amount of kills, then after you get a certain amount of kills in Blue, you have to go through certain training for Gold?"

"Yeah. Then you get a certain amount as a Gold, and your eligible for Black Skull training. And once you get enough kills as a Black Skull, you're eligible for White Skull training. Some people never make it past Gold Skull training though, and stay a Blue Skull forever. Not many make it to Black, and almost no one makes it to White. Apparently it's crazy hard training."

"Wow. I don't know if I'll ever make it to even Gold."

"Yeah. But I keep wondering what the fuck they put the White Skulls through during training to make them so out of their fucking minds."

"I guess the only way to find out is to go through it." Brandon looked down at his tray, and noticed he had finished his food. The others had done the same subconsciously. So they took their dishes to the back and put them in the racks. Then they made their way to wherever they were going. "So what are the milestones?" Brandon asked as they asked, with Lyndsey clinging to his left arm.

"Well, to get out of Green Skull and into my rank, you have to kill five hundred Infected. I have to kill eight hundred to get out of Red and into Blue. To be eligible for Gold training, you have to kill 1750 Infected. To be eligible for Black Skull training, you have to exterminate 3000, and to get into White Skull training, you have to have killed 5000. It's crazy, I know, but it's a good way of getting rid of large amounts of Infected." He explained.

"Whoa, no kidding."

"Yeah, well anyways, this is the briefing building. It used to be a church, but we use it as a place to discuss missions. There's a huge bunker underneath that we use as the barracks for the Green, Red, and Blue Skulls." They had stopped in front of what clearly used to be a chapel. He led them inside and into the room where confessions would've been made. Large opened a trapdoor and motioned for them to enter. They climbed down a ladder (which made Lyndsey absolutely paranoid since she hated ladders) and stopped in an unusual metal hallway with six large doors.

xXxXxXxXx

"This place is weird." Brandon commented.

"It's okay after you get used to it. So your barracks are the first doors. The girls' is on the right and the boys' is on the left. Just find an empty bunk." Large headed into the left door on in the middle, and left the two outside on their own.

"Well that guy seemed pretty cool." Lyndsey said.

"Yeah. Well, anyways, I'll see you in the morning, Sis." Brandon hugged her.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Brother." And they went their separate ways. In the boys' barracks, Brandon found an empty bottom bunk and lay down on it. He felt the whole thing shake as the guy above him moved. He saw a head flip down from the top.

"Hey, there. You new around here?" He whispered. It was awfully dark, so Brandon couldn't exactly see what the guy looked like.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Awesome. My name's Tanner. Tanner Willier. Who are you?"

"Brandon Peck."

"Well Brandon Peck, welcome to the base. We have no official name, so... Yeah."

"Cool. How long have you been here?"

"About two weeks. Horde of Infected attacked my complex, and I took to the streets. Some Gold Skulls found me and took me in."

"I see. My sister and I had been walking for about eighteen hours after our orphanage burned down, and we found one of your walls."

"Wow. Well, you'll be needing your sleep if you wanna start training tomorrow. These guys accept no slack. We get up, eat breakfast, and start. So go to bed." Willet laughed, then flipped back up onto his bunk. Brandon settled into his bed, and passed out. During this event, someone tried to make friends with Lyndsey too. But that didn't go so well.

xXxXxXxXx

Lyndsey found a bunk that was empty on the bottom and the top. She got up to the top and prepared to settle in, but got distracted by the girl in the next bunk over.

"Hi there. Newbie, huh? My name is Leah Sorrio. What's yours?" She asked. Lyndsey didn't answer, since she didn't talk to other people. "Umm, hello. Can you hear me?" Lyndsey nodded. "Uh, then answer me." The other girl demanded. Lyndsey was unimpressed. This girl was some kind of prep, she knew. "Wow, okay. Just trying to welcome you, but I guess you're not interested." So the girl went back to sleep. Lyndsey hadn't meant to come off as rude, but she shrugged off the situation and fell asleep.

xXxXxXxXx

"Good morning, Brandon! Dude, wake up, your combats are here!" Willier pushed Brandon to try and wake him up. It worked. He opened his eyes, and looked at the boy he met last night. The lights had been turned on, so he could actually see him. He had a kind of angled face, less than Lyndsey's but more than his own, and darker brown hair than him as well. It was also cut shorter. Tanner was a bit shorter than Brandon, but overall he looked pretty cool.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up." Brandon pushed his new friend away. At the foot of the bed were the same greenish-brown combats that Large and Tanner wore. He already saw the Green Skull patch sewn on the shoulder. Brandon changed quickly.

"Lookin' good. You rock those combats, dude. Now c'mon, lets go to breakfast. I'm starving." Tanner grabbed Brandon's wrist and dragged him outside the barracks. Meanwhile in the girls' barracks, the situation was a little different.

xXxXxXxXx

"It's morning now, so will you finally talk?" Leah Sorrio asked Lyndsey as they both climbed off the top bunks Now that the lights had been turned on, Lyndsey could see Leah more clearly. She didn't look at all like your regular, high-strung prep. Firstly, she wasn't an Aryan. Her hair was brown and curly, and she had a very angled face. Second, she wore no makeup, but that was really hard to come across these days. Third, she wasn't followed by a bunch of floozies ready to do whatever she said. Once firmly on the ground, Lyndsey shook her head and looked at the other girl with a sad expression. Leah didn't read her face though, just her action. "Why not?" She demanded. Lyndsey looked as if she was about to say something, but didn't. Usually this meant she didn't talk. But Leah was clearly not understanding. "Ugh, fine then. Be that way." She stormed towards the door.

Lyndsey didn't understand. Usually everyone could read her just fine, but this girl could not! She suppose it couldn't be helped. She looked at the combats on the bottom bunk, and instantly noticed a difference between them and the ones Large wore. They looked as if they were actually styled for females. She put them on, and immediately grew suspicious. They fit her PERFECTLY. Almost as if they had been made specifically for her. Had someone come and done her measurements while she was sleeping? She didn't know, but she made her way outside, quickly met by Brandon and a boy she didn't know.

xXxXxXxXx

"Oh, hey Sis." Brandon said. Lyndsey lifted her hand in a simple greeting and smiled.

"So that's your sister? You two don't look that much alike." The mysterious boy said. Lyndsey almost shot him a death glare. Almost.

"We're not related by blood." Brandon explained.

"Ah, loyalty relation. It's stronger than blood relation, that's for sure."

"Yeah. Lyndsey, this is Tanner Willier." Lindsay repeated her earlier greeting.

"Nice to meet you Lyndsey. Not much of a talker, are you?" Willer asked. Lyndsey shook her head. "Well that's fine. It means you're less likely to get in shit around here." He laughed, and was soon joined by the siblings. When they finally stopped, Tanner said, "You know, I hope I get to hear you speak someday. From your laugh, it sounds like you have a very nice voice." Lyndsey blushed a little. She knew he wasn't hitting on her, but it was still a nice compliment. "Now then, shall we head to breakfast?" The siblings nodded, and again climbed the ladder (in which Lyndsey was again driven paranoid). Back at the top, they made their way to the mess hall. And in the mess hall, they again found Large at the exact same table as last night. But he was with another person. A Green Skull, to be exact.

xXxXxXxXx

"Morning, Large." Brandon greeted as he, Lyndsey, and Tanner sat down with them.

"Oh, hey. So you survived through the night. Impressive." Lyndsey cocked an eyebrow at his joke. It wasn't very funny.

"Oh, come on, Lyndsey. Don't look at me that way. It makes me feel dumb." He complained. Lyndsey gave him a wide, innocent smile, as if to say she didn't know what he was talking about. "Anyways, I'd like you to meet Donaven Coates. He's a Green Skull, just like you guys. And I see you've already met Tanner." Carson gestured to the boy next to him. He had a very angled, lightly freckled face, and was quite pale. He had dirty blonde, buzz cut hair, and he looked up with a smile, which surprised Brandon and Lyndsey. He didn't look very friendly without the smile.

"Hey, I'm Donaven. It's good to meet you." He greeted.

"Coates, these are the Peck siblings, Brandon and Lyndsey. They're loyalty related. Lyndsey is mute, so you'll have to read her body language and facial expressions to get anything out of her. But Brandon is quite the talker." Large introduced them.

"Hey." Brandon said. Lyndsey tilted her head a bit to the right and smiled a little.

"So you don't talk at all?" Coates asked Lyndsey.

"She talks to me when no one else is around, but that's it." Brandon answered.

"Huh. I see." The boy leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, Donaven, what are we doing today again?" Tanner asked.

"Umm... I think we have a history lesson, then we head out to the range, and then... The obstacle course maybe?" Coates closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"Well if that's the case, we'd better hurry. I want to get that lesson over with so I can shoot something!" Willier dove into his food.

"What do you have to do today, Carson?" Brandon asked the Red Skull.

"I've got a cleanup today." He replied.

"Is Taniesha going with you?" Donaven looked at the older boy.

"Fisher? Yeah, I think so."

"Who's Fisher?" Brandon looked back and forth between the two boys.

"Taniesha's my girlfriend. She's in Carson's squad. In fact, there she is over there." Coates pointed to a group of Red Skull girls. "She's the blonde one." The Pecks knew who he was talking about. She was a simple girl with an angled face, though not as angled as her boyfriend's. she was a bit pale, but again, not as pale as Coates. Her shoulder-length dirty blonde hair with bits of actual brown in it was tied back in a rough, lazy ponytail.

"I see. She's pretty." Brandon said.

"Yeah. Prettiest thing alive." And once again, without noticing, they'd all finished their food. So they took in the dishes and headed off. Lyndsey, Brandon, Donaven and Tanner went towards another building, while Carson headed towards the exit.

xXxXxXxXx

"Here we are. Green Skull lesson room. This is also where you guys will be placed in a squad. Maybe you'll end up in ours." Tanner nudged Donaven, showing that they were in the same squad. Lyndsey nodded, showing her approval of that idea.

"Hopefully. I don't think I'd be comfortable with strangers." Brandon said.

"Well I know a good way of increasing the chance of you being with us. Sitting at the same table and talking as if we're good friends. Which we are!" Donaven led then to a table near the back of the room. They all sat down and were conversing before the instructor came in.

"Alright, shut up! Dilly-dally time is over!" He yelled. Everyone jumped and looked at him, frozen to the spot. He took attendance. "Sabrina Abric." A girl raised her hand.

"Here."

"Steven Bryant."

"Here."

"Tallia Carrin."

"Present."

"Donaven Coates." Donaven raised his hand.

"Here." The list continued, and Lyndsey became concerned. He never looked up from his attendance sheet.

"Brandon Peck." Brandon raised his hand.

"Here."

"Lyndsey Peck." Lyndsey raised her hand reluctantly. The man didn't look up. "Lyndsey Peck." Lyndsey held her hand up even higher.

"She's here, sir." Brandon answered for her. Willer practically jumped on top of him in hopes to stop him from speaking.

"Is that right?" The instructor looked up, his voice dark and cruel. Lyndsey began to shake nervously. The man pulled out a nightstick from the drawer of the front desk and began walking toward their table. Tanner got off of Brandon and looked at the instructor, eyes as wide as saucers. The teacher walked up to Brandon, who was still in the floor, and grinned cruelly. He raised the nightstick, and Brandon squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hah!" An unfamiliar voice cried. Lyndsey jumped at the instructor and nearly knocked him over. She landed close to the man, but backed up, blocking his path to her brother. Everyone in the class looked in surprise. Her three friends looked in shock. She had never seemed like someone who would ever lash out at anyone, yet here she was, standing between her brother and the instructor in a fighting stance, looking at the man as if to tell him that if he took one step closer, she'd bash in his skull. The teacher smirked.

"You've got spunk, kid. I'll give you that. But why didn't you answer me when I called your name?"

"She's mute, sir." Brandon again answered.

"Oh, I see. Well then, get back into your seats." The teacher went back to the front of the room, while Lyndsey helped her brother up. The teacher continued until he reached the last name on the list. "Tanner Willier."

"Here, sir."

"Good. Now, on with the lesson." He began. They learned that the base had been created five years after the apocalypse started, starting with the old chapel, which had been a church in the wilderness for people who went on pilgrimages. It had been well reinforced, and had the bunker underneath, which was now the barracks. Then they started creating the rest of the base. The buildings had been the first priority. There had been troops all over, shooting every Infected that walked into the camp. Then, when some people had been out searching for resources, they'd found the vehicles the base used at the current time, making it easier to get larger amounts of materials. Once the buildings were done, they created the wall. Once the wall was done, they began organizing the missions and ranking system. And now it was this. It had been an hour already when the lesson finally finished. The siblings had been placed in the same squad as Tanner and Donaven, much to their approval and relief.

xXxXxXxXx

"Now, off you go to the range!" The instructor dismissed the class, and they headed out quickly.

"Man, that took forever. It's like they're trying to beat this info into us." Willer stretched and yawned.

"They are, I'm sure of it." Donaven agreed.

"So when do the Red Skulls get back?" Brandon asked.

"They'll be back just before dinner."

"Oh, cool."

"Yeah, they pack lunches, but are too lazy to stay out until after dinner." Willier said. The group of four laughed as they went to an area that looked exactly like what it was. An outdoor range.

"And here we are. We have the small firearms range and the large firearms range." Donaven announced grandly.

"Where will we be starting?" Brandon asked.

"Wherever you want. There's no instructor for this. Just a supervisor. You hand in your targets to her for her to mark so the officers can record your progress." Tanner replied.

"The supervisor is a girl?"

"Yeah. She's an amazing shot too." Donaven grinned.

"Cool. I think I'll start at the large firearms. How 'bout you, Sis?" Lyndsey shook her head and pointed to the small firearms. "Okay. I'll see you after, then." She nodded and jogged off. Brandon walked over to the large guns and picked a bolt action .22 and his ammunition, then decided to start in the prone position. He began firing at the targets set up in his particular area. They had huge walls up in between each individual range, so no one got hurt when going to get their targets. Meanwhile, at the small firearms range, Lyndsey had picked up a small pressurized pistol like the one her father used to have. She grabbed her ammo and began at the standing. She was joined by Willier shortly after.

"You any good at this?" He asked. Lyndsey nodded. She had already used one of these to blow the heads off two Infected, so she figured she was good enough. Time flew, and before they knew it, they had to go for lunch, meaning that the time on the range for the day was over.

xXxXxXxXx

"That was great. I hope we get to do it again soon." Brandon said as the four day down to eat.

"Well, you might be able to use those guns in action tomorrow." Donaven told him.

"Oh? Why?"

"Because we have a cleanup tomorrow." Tanner answered.

"Everyone, the Red Skulls are back!" Someone basically screamed.

"They're early." Willier commented.

"Something's wrong." Coates was the first one out the door. When they all ran out, they found him yelling at Carson.

"Where's Taniesha?!"

"Where is she?!"

"Coates..." A boy says sadly. He led the lower rank boy to the back of a truck and lifted the tarp. Coates broke down instantly. He jumped into the back of the truck and hugged the girl inside like there was no tomorrow.

"Taniesha no... NO!"

**A/N: I think I jumped the gun a little with the death, but this was something me and Bigfoot02 created for a cause. The meaning of this event will be relayed in much, much later chapters. Also, keep in mind that I include many events in each chapter, so things could change dramatically in one chapter, or weeks could go by with one scene transition. Or who knows, maybe even years. This allows me to do more continuous writing without having to stop and create a new document. So I hope you liked it, and the next chapter will be up soon. Please review and for those of you who like Halo (Particularly Halo Reach) go check out Bigfoot02's story Angels of Reach.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, my adoring fans XD. Anyways, this chapter is the one where we go out of the base for the first time for that cleanup mission mentioned in the last chapter. There's lots of character development, and this is also where we see just how crazy the White Skulls are. So enjoy the actual action of this chapter!**

**Insanity Comes in White, Too**

Coates was allowed to skip the obstacle course to prepare for his girlfriend's service, which would be happening after dinner. As were her closest friends. The rest of the Red Skulls were given the rest of the day off, and the Green Skulls still had to go to the course.

"Man, I can't believe Fisher died. She was always so fierce and determined, you'd think that she'd always just get back up no matter what happened." Willier said. He was trying to keep the mood up, but failed miserably. Even the two newbies, who didn't know her, were rather depressed. The obstacle course meant nothing to them at all. They just went through it without paying much attention several hundred times and went to dinner. And that dinner was eaten in silence. Brandon was given a black suit to wear, while Lyndsey was given a black dress, each of which having a Green Skull patch sewn over the heart. They went back to the barracks, changed, and headed to the service. Taniesha's entire squad was there, and of course all the others who knew her in a positive light. Donaven was standing in front of her coffin. Not quite crying, but instead had tears welled up in his eyes.

xXxXxXxXx

"Donaven." He turned to look at where a quiet and unfamiliar voice came from. He found Lyndsey standing next to him, looking at the coffin as well. He blinked a few times to try and comprehend the current situation. "I didn't know her, but I'm sure she was a wonderful person. From what I've heard all day, I wish I could've met her." Lyndsey actually said out loud. Donaven looked away, horribly confused.

"Yeah, she was great. I never imagined that someone so bright and determined could go down on a cleanup mission. But shit happens, I guess." He replied, barely managing the words.

"I like to think about it this way. She's finally free. Free of this horrible hellhole we call Earth. She doesn't have to worry about the Infected anymore. She can finally get away from all that. And I'm sure her spirit will be with you until you're free as well."

"You really think so?"

"I'm almost positive. We shouldn't be sad that she's gone. We should be happy that she's free. Would you really have held her back from freedom?"

"No. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy."

"And now I'm sure she's much happier not having to be part of this diseased world." Donaven looked at Lyndsey.

"Thank you for that. I feel a lot better now." He said. It was true. He no longer had tears in his eyes. The girl nodded at him, back to her regular mute self.

Everyone sat in silence as the people made their speeches. When Coates went up, he actually said what Lyndsey had told him, and said that he was just glad she was free. The service ended after the commander spoke, and they lowered Taniesha's coffin into the earth. Afterwards, everyone went to bed.

xXxXxXxXx

When Brandon and Lyndsey woke up the next morning, they found camouflage dog tags next to their pillows. They each had a skull carved into the front, and their names carved into the back. They figured why they had been given these was in case they died on their mission. So they quickly put them on, tucked the tag under their tunics, and went to breakfast.

"Donaven's not coming today. He's spending the day in the barracks to mourn. He'll be back in action tomorrow, though. Too bad he has to miss the mission today. Though I suppose going on a cleanup mission would be pretty harsh on him." Brandon informed Lyndsey and Carson while they sat at their table eating.

"Yeah. Though the Red Skulls had gone with the Gold Skulls. We're going with the Black Skulls. Apparently this one looks a little suspicious, so we'll be taking some White Skulls too." Tanner added.

"Save the gossiping until after the briefing, guys. You could be mislead." Carson told them. Lyndsey of course, was silent. But she suddenly turned rather roughly to look at the door. Her friends turned as well, and just a second after, the door opened, revealing a rather determined looking Green Skull Coates. The boy grabbed a tray, got some breakfast, and sat down with the others.

"Coates, what are you doing? I thought you were staying in today." Brandon asked.

"I'm going with you guys. I need to go on this mission to avenge Taniesha. Besides, she wouldn't want me to sit around in the barracks and mope about her death. She would want me to just try harder to end this crazy apocalypse for her." He told them defiantly. The boys looked at him in surprise, while Lyndsey just nodded approvingly.

"Well okay then. Hurry up, or you'll miss the briefing." Tanner said as the rest of their little group went to leave.

"I'm sure you can fill me in if need be."

"I guess so." So the four left. Carson headed to the range, while the other three went back to the chapel. There, they found their squad, a bunch of Black Skulls and a few White Skulls sitting in the pews already.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey guys." The three turned. As to how Donaven caught up so fast was beyond them, but they took their seats and awaited the briefing. Lyndsey found herself instinctively grasping her dog tag, which she must've pulled out of her tunic earlier without noticing.

"Alright, so what'll be happening here is the Black Skulls will be going into a hot zone to clear it out. The hot zone looks a bit funny to us, so we're sending some White Skulls in too. Afterwards, the Green Skulls will clean it up. Pretty straightforward. So for those of you who haven't been on a mission before, stay here to get geared up. As for the rest of you, head out." The commander ordered. Everyone but the group of four in the back left.

"You guys haven't been on a mission before?" Brandon asked.

"Do you see weapons on us?" Tanner laughed.

"Wait, we carry them around in camp?"

"Yeah. Didn't you notice the others?" Donaven asked. Lyndsey answered by shaking her head. "I see. Well yeah, we carry them with us at all times." They all got up and walked towards the front. They were given a magazine .22 rifle, a small pressurized .22 pistol, and a combat knife. The rifle was to be strapped to their backs, the pistols to their belts, and the knives to their shoulders, but Lyndsey rejected that and attached it to the back of her belt instead. They also received gas masks, because the fumes of burning diseased flesh probably weren't healthy.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey, Lyndsey, maybe you should tie your hair back." Brandon suggested when the reacted the exit. Lyndsey considered this, and realized that if her hair got caught on anything, she'd be fucked over, so she nodded, and got a camo hair tie from one of the Black Skulls. She tied her hair back in a loose but neat ponytail and left it.

"Alright, I want every Green Skull in the same vehicle as a Black Skull, understood?" A random White Skull called.

"Yes sir!" All the Green Skulls besides the obvious called back. The four thirteen year olds that made up our tag-team of newbies got into the same vehicle as the Black Skull that gave Lyndsey her hair tie, and headed out to wherever their mission was. It was just a beaten down path for about half an hour before they reached actual asphalt. Then they drove down the highway at frightening speeds. Not that it mattered. These were heavily armoured vehicles, and almost no one drove anymore anyways. But when there was danger of a cliff, they did indeed slow down. It took them about two and a half hours not including washroom breaks to get to their destination, which was Grande Prairie. In the centre of town, the vehicles finally stopped.

xXxXxXxXx

"Alright, now you kids need to stay here until we come back for you. There will be some Black Skulls staying behind for your protection, but if you see an Infected heading your way, open the window and blow their brains out. Make sure you hit the upper head, or else it won't die. And don't break the window. That puts you at risk. Understood?" The Black Skull instructed.

"Yes ma'am." The boys replied. Lyndsey nodded.

"Good. We'll be back for you soon enough." And then she left.

"Brandon, you should come sit back here with us. You'll be safer that way." Donaven suggested.

"Yeah, you're right." So Brandon crawled into the four-seater back beside Willier. Lyndsey was in between Tanner and Donaven for safety reasons. Brandon and Coates were on the outsides, keeping a close eye on the side windows. Lyndsey was watching the back, and Tanner was keeping tabs on the front. Nothing disturbed the Green Skulls while the others were gone except the occasional Black Skull that walked by. Then they all returned, and told the Green Skulls to follow them.

At the hot zone, there were bodies EVERYWHERE. All Infected, fortunately. So they set to work. Infected were really gross, the teens decided. With ripped clothes, straggled hair (if they had any) pale, rotting flesh, and a very dead expression, they were indeed very revolting. They burnt pile after pile, until Leah Sorrio decided to pull a prep move.

"Ah!" She screamed as one Infected in her pile began to move. She froze as it reached for her. Lyndsey rolled her eyes, pulled her pistol from the left side of her waist, and lodged a bullet in the top of its head. Then she replaced her gun.

"Stop freaking out and start reacting when stuff like that happens." Lyndsey said just loud enough for the other girl to hear as she walked past her. Then she lit a match and threw it behind her, setting Leah's pile ablaze. The prep glared at her back as she left. Figures, that Infected wasn't the only one still alive. Brandon and Donaven had killed three by the end of the mission, while Lyndsey kept her one, and Willer had none.

"Well that took forever." Tanner stretched.

"Yeah, but it's over now. C'mon guys, we're going home." Brandon said leading the way back to the vehicles. With the way they walked, Lyndsey on Brandon's right flank, and Willer on his left, with Coates on the right of Lyndsey, you'd think it was the ending of an action movie. But they entered their vehicle and headed back to base.

xXxXxXxXx

"Well, that was interesting." Brandon said as the four teens wandered around base. After dinner, they'd gotten some free time, so instead of going to bed instantly like normal, they walked around.

"Yeah. I can't believe some of them were still alive." Donaven shook his head rapidly and stuck his tongue out.

"I can't believe I didn't get any kills!" Willier whined. "Did you get any, Lyndsey?" The girl grinned at him, and held up one finger. "Agh! Beaten by a mute girl! I can't believe it!" Everyone laughed at Tanner's tantrum. He had fallen to his knees and was now beating at the ground with the side of his fist. When he finally recovered, they continued their evening stroll. Lyndsey simply enjoyed the night air as the boys conversed about how far they wanted to go in this place.

"I'm going to White Skull, no doubt about it." Donaven boasted.

"I think I'll stay a Black Skull unless I change my mind sometime." Tanner said less proudly. "How about you, Brandon?"

"Ah, I don't know. I think... Yeah, I'll go all the way. I'll be a White Skull." Brandon decided. Tanner turned to Lyndsey.

"What about you, Lyndsey?" The girl looked, smiled sweetly, and spelled out the word "White" in the air. "You know what? I'm not gonna let you guys boss me around. I'm goin' for White too!"

"I don't think Lyndsey could boss you around anyways, Tanner." Coates nudged his friend. Everyone laughed at that too. They continued this sort of talking and playing around for the rest of their free time, then finally headed in. Satisfied with their day, the four slept peacefully.

xXxXxXxXx

It had been three weeks since the Peck siblings arrived at base. Brandon was still tall, Willier was still silly, Coates was still egotistic, and Lyndsey was still quite mute. Her hair had changed from light brown to regular brown, and explained through pen and paper that her hair would soon be ebony, a very dark brown colour. Willier had killed nineteen Infected total from the cleanup missions, Lyndsey had picked off a good twenty-six, and the other two were still tied, with both having thirty-four. They had a long way to go until they reached Red Skull, but it felt good to know they were getting there. They were currently chilling out at the range. Donaven was shooting skeet, while the other three stood back and watched. Well, the boys stood. Lyndsey sat on a desk with her feet crossed at the ankles. Their friend was doing quite well, and it got recognition from the supervisor.

"Good shooting, Coates. Can any of you shoot like this?" The woman asked. Willier instantly pointed at the Peck siblings. "You can?"

"Ah, well... I'm okay, I guess." Brandon said with his usual modesty. Lyndsey shrugged a little.

"Well, you've got no time to show off now. We've got a cleanup right now with the Red Skulls." A voice that had become familiar over the past few days said. Everyone, including Coates, looked. It was Ryan Connolly. He looked quite a bit like Brandon, but his face was slightly more angled and mature-looking, and he was much shorter. He only stood about four inches above Lyndsey. They had become good friends with him lately.

"Now?" Willer asked.

"Yes, now." So they left. They met the Black Skulls and selected Red Skull squad, which happened to be Carson's, and there were also some White Skulls. They ran up to Large immediately.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey, what's the deal? We didn't get a briefing or anything!" Donaven was a bit miffed at the sudden cancellation of his shooting.

"That's because the commander just decided a few minutes ago that we'd be bringing you." He replied. Coates was about to get angry again when he was stopped by a hand on his arm. Lyndsey shook her head at him. He took a breath, then backed off. When Lyndsey "spoke", people listened. And when Lyndsey _actually_ spoke, people listened even more.

"Lyndsey's right, Donaven. This mission could mean more kills for us." Brandon said.

"Well if you want to even go on this mission, you'd best find a vehicle." A Black Skull told them. They dashed into a vehicle, and then finally left. The others seemed happy enough, but something told Lyndsey they would witness something horrible on this mission. She tapped her brother on the shoulder, and gave him her "I am very concerned" look.

"What about? It's just a mission." And he was answered with a note.

"I feel like we're going to witness a horrible thing."

"... I see. Well, there's nothing we can do about it. If we witness something horrible, then we'll witness something horrible." Lyndsey nodded, and rested head on her shoulder. He put his arm around her, and she fell asleep. The others weren't far behind her.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey, kids. Time to get up. We've finished our job. Now it's time for yours." The Black Skull they had traveled with, a guy, said. The teens asleep began to wake up. None of them had dreamed.

"Okay, we're up? C'mon guys, we've gotta get up!" Donaven was not above kicking his friends, save for Lyndsey. Once they were up and out of the truck, they were led to the first area. Bad move on their part.

"Take one more step and you'll regret it." Someone said behind them. They all turned slowly, and saw a rather unkempt man. He held a shotgun to Brandon's head in particular. Lyndsey began to shake in fear and rage. Suddenly, there were more of them. Humans, uninfected. Prepared to kill other survivors.

"What's wrong with her?" Another man standing in front of them pointed his muzzle at Lyndsey. Brandon pulled her behind him protectively, and noticed her shaking. Then got an idea.

"She's cold." He said.

"Cold? How the hell is she cold? It's almost summer." The first man said.

"She has the flu." The men, all of them, looked a little frightened. Any sickness in these times could mean the person with the sickness becomes infected without being even near a zombie.

"Then why is she with you? We know you people. Any sign of infection in one of your people means instant execution." A new man asked. This one was behind them.

"She still has a chance to recover." The Black Skull with them had caught on to Brandon's plan.

"Well, as long as she stays well away from us, we're fine. Now c'mon, move it!" The men in the back moved out of the way of the six teens. They started walking and continued to for about five minutes until Lyndsey came up with an idea.

"Ugh…" She grunted, then fell to her knees. The others caught on instantly to what she was up to.

"Whoa, Sis! Hey, are you okay?" Brandon knelt next to her and gave her a little smile for her idea. She held her stomach tightly, squeezed her eyes shut, and started to convulse as if she were gagging.

"What's she doing?!" The man who had first found them asked, his voice shaky.

"She's about to throw up, obviously. What are you, stupid?" Ryan replied with a question. Then Lyndsey decided to try something. She pulled her tongue far, far back into her throat, a skill her mother had granted her through genetics, and in fact, did throw up. Brandon backed up a bit, a little shocked himself, just like the others. When she finished, she rolled her eyes back into her head and fell backwards to avoid the half-digested breakfast. She made her breathing shallower, so that you couldn't really tell if she was breathing or not, and focused on quieting her heartbeat, so that she could just barely hear it in her ears. Her father had taught her to do this in case a situation like this ever appeared. She heard gasps and cries from everyone. She could sense a hand in front of her face to check for breathing. Then she felt someone press on her neck to check for a pulse.

"She… She's dead." She heard Ryan say in complete shock. He had known just as well as the rest of her team that she was fine, but now he didn't know. But Lyndsey could practically feel Brandon smiling. He knew she wasn't actually dead. She hadn't done it in front of him, but he was aware she possessed this ability. Suddenly, she heard the familiar thud of someone landing after a jump, and then a gunshot. She heard someone slump to the ground, and then she was suddenly up in a crouching position. Several more gunshots, and more people falling. Two White Skulls were killing the men who had captured their team. The Green Skulls watched in horror as two by two at least, the men fell. Survivors killing other survivors. This is just how far the White Skulls would go? What exactly were they put through in training?! As the Green Skulls watched, one thing repeated in their minds. These older teens were insane. When all of the men were finally on the ground, bleeding from their heads, the White Skulls turned back to the five Green Skulls and one Black Skull.

xXxXxXxXx

"Are you alright?" One of them, a guy, asked.

"Yes, we are now." The Black Skull answered. The Green Skulls were speechless.

"And what about her?" A different White Skull, again a male, pointed at Lyndsey. The girl stood, and was quickly grabbed by her brother. He pulled her behind him again.

"She's fine." He told them.

"But she wasn't just a moment ago." The first guy said.

"She's an amazing actress. She knows how to make it impossible to tell if she's alive or dead. She can also pull her tongue back into her throat to make herself throw up."

"Prove that she's alive." Lyndsey looked around, thinking of a way, then simply looked at the White Skull, and smiled. A sweet, innocent smile that only someone fully alive could have.

"Dude, there's no way she could be dead." The second White Skull said to the first.

"You're right. Well okay then. Keep close by, in case more bandits show up. You still have a job to do, whether you were ambushed or not." So they all traveled together, burning the bodies of the dead bandits as well. When they were finally finished with their particular three areas, they had gotten lots more kills. The White Skulls and the Black Skull didn't even try to stop any of the ones still living. By the time they were done, Brandon and Donaven's kills had spiked to fifty-seven, Lindsay had gone to forty-three, and Tanner had jumped ahead of her to forty-eight. Ryan's kills were forty-nine.

xXxXxXxXx

"Well, I'm ahead of you now, Lyndsey." Tanner said. Lyndsey smiled at him as if to say that was okay with her. "I'm glad you aren't angry."

"Lyndsey is almost as modest as Brandon sometimes, though." Donaven told him.

"Yeah, you're right. But still, I feel kinda bad." Lyndsey placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Thanks. I'm sure you'll be with us through all of our training anyways." The girl nodded.

"So… Is _anyone_ a little bit disturbed by the behaviour of the White Skulls, or is it just me?" Ryan asked.

"No, I think it's all of us." Brandon said. The others nodded in agreement.

"How could they kill other survivors like that?" Tanner asked.

"They were trying to kill us too, remember that." Donaven reminded the others. Lyndsey had a look that clearly said, "Yes, but still…"

"I know Sis, I know. It seems kinda wrong that survivors are trying to kill other survivors. We should be working together to restore the world!" Brandon said defiantly.

"But that's not how it always works." Everyone turned to find Carson Large walking up to them.

"But why do we have to fight like this?" Ryan asked.

"The answer to that is simple."

"Resources…" Lyndsey muttered quietly, so only Brandon, who was standing closest to her, could hear.

"Yeah, you're right. It's resources. Whoever has the most is the target for everyone else. They have the most chance of surviving. We have the resources, but we also have organization too. If our organization were to break, the resources would probably be left open to anyone. So that's why we fight." He said.

"Yes. As long as we have the resources, the bandits will continue to attack us." Large confirmed. So with this fact settling in, the Green Skulls finished their night.

**A/N: So that's chapter two! I hope you liked the action, so don't forget to rate and review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And here we go! I have fast forwarded quite a bit in this chapter, but it's so I can fit in more big events. There are a lot of them in this story. Plus nothing interesting happens in the time that passes. So enjoy this chapter, which starts rather hilariously.**

**An Old Alliance**

Three months had passed since Brandon and Lyndsey arrived at the base that still had yet to take a name. They were Red Skulls now, since their squad always volunteered for every mission. But not everyone advanced. Only Brandon, Donaven, Ryan, Tanner, Lyndsey, and Leah (though just barely) made the cut on their last mission. Carson was finally a Blue Skull, and was now able to do clearing missions instead of just cleanup. Clearing missions were the actual killing of the Walkers instead of just the burning of the corpses.

The teens, including Carson, were all at the range again. It was their hangout spot. After his first clearing mission, Large had brought them all sodas, a new kind of drink for all of them. It was high in sugar and caffeine, and some of the Red Skulls weren't handling it very well.

"Omigoshthisstuffissoepic!" Tanner said. He was bouncing around like a kangaroo.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ryan called, unable to form proper words. Lyndsey just sat on the desk, eyes wide, and shaking like crazy. Every so often her head would twitch a little.

"Oh wow you guys." Brandon laughed.

"It's just pop." Carson added. Donaven was laughing so hard he couldn't speak.

"Shutupitsnotfunny!" Tanner tried to get mad, but failed miserably. Lyndsey got off the table and stood next to her brother, still wide-eyed and shaking.

"Perhaps this beverage is not such a good thing." She whispered in a surprisingly calm voice.

"I think you're right." Brandon replied.

"Maybe I should've thought twice about giving you guys this stuff." Carson said.

"Yeah, maybe." Donaven agreed.

"Hey, Carson! You wanna come on a clearing mission?" A Blue Skull called. Squads didn't really apply when it came to clearing missions, and once you reached Gold Skull, there were no squads at all.

"Fuck yeah I wanna go on a clearing mission! See you later guys." Carson ran towards the exit.

"Great, now we're stuck here with nothing to do and no Carson for rudely sarcastic comments." Tanner said, finally over his trip to sugar-rush highway.

"We'll make it. Wanna go get something to eat? I'm sure they've got leftovers from lunch." Brandon suggested.

"Yeah sure. Hey, Connolly, can you form words yet?" Coates called.

"Y-y-y-yeah, k-k-k-kinda. I-I-I-I'm in f-f-f-for eat-t-t-ting." He replied very, _very_, shakily. Lyndsey simply nodded rapidly. So they headed to the mess hall.

xXxXxXxXx

"Yes! CHICKEN!" Ryan yelled. The perfectly cooked and spiced boneless chicken breasts from lunch were still in abundance. Ryan was just coming out of his hyperactive state from the soda, and Lyndsey was completely back to normal. They grabbed as much as they could fit on their plates, which wasn't even half of it, and sat down at their table. Despite how much everyone took, if anyone in the group was a carnivore, it was Lyndsey. She plowed into the chicken as if she may never eat meat again, as she always did.

"Holy crap, Lyndsey. You're like a tiger." Donaven commented.

"Nah, she's not that crazy. More like… A wolf." Tanner decided.

"Yeah, I agree." Ryan added. Lyndsey simply looked at them with big, naïve eyes, with a chicken breast half in her mouth. She looked like an otaku with that face. She continued to stare as they decided what animal her eating represented. Eventually, they all came to an agreement.

"She eats like a wolf." Brandon confirmed. Then he looked to Lyndsey for her approval. She had seen some wolves in the woods while they drove to missions sometimes. They were very beautiful animals, graceful, and yet incredibly powerful. They were by far her favourite of all of the animals she had ever seen. She nodded her agreement, and continued her attack on the food stacked on her plate. The boys all laughed at her behaviour. It was the only time Lyndsey actually had an attitude. When she silently willed her food to die the painful death of being eaten by her.

"Lyndsey, you know the chicken is already dead, right?" Ryan asked. She looked up, nodded, and went back.

"Lets just not bother her, okay?" Brandon suggested. If only that would actually happen.

"Squad Three, Red Skulls! You have a cleanup mission in twenty minutes!" A Black Skull yelled into the door of the mess hall. Lyndsey stopped eating, pushed her plate away a little, and slammed her head down on the table.

"Sorry, Sis. But when duty calls, we have to answer. You've still got twenty minutes, so if you hurry, you might be able to finish." And so she did. Surprisingly, she didn't even get hiccups after eating so fast.

xXxXxXxXx

"Alright, c'mon. The Blue Skulls are still out there. Get in!" The Black Skull point man yelled. In an almost rush, the Red Skulls loaded into the vehicles and left. They were there in such little time a scene transition isn't even necessary.

"Hey guys!" Carson called as his Red Skull friends got out of their vehicle.

"Hey Carson!" Donaven replied. They jogged over to him.

"How'd it go?" Tanner asked.

"Better than we thought. Few Walkers, and no bandits. Not much for you to do, and most likely no kills." He reported.

"Well damn." Ryan mumbled. Lyndsey giggled a little. Connolly glanced at her, and she laughed a little more.

"No kills? Sounds a little too safe for my taste." A very preppy voice said behind them. Lyndsey's eyes narrowed as she turned to face Leah. The two had become rivals during the few months they'd spent as Green Skulls.

"Actually, this sounds perfect for you, Sorrio." Brandon muttered. Lyndsey had told him about Leah's fear of the undead and how many times she'd had to bail her out of trouble.

"No, this sounds perfect for your sister, Peck. She's such a scaredy-cat." Leah lied through her teeth.

"Oh, right. And that's why she has more kills than you, right?" Tanner asked crossly. Leah was stuck, and settled for walking away, mumbling about how Lyndsey couldn't fight her own battles.

"That's because she's mute, bitch." Donaven muttered angrily. Lyndsey looked him right in the eye for the first time. Donaven's eyes were an icy blue, and after seeing this, wondered what the others' eye colours were. She looked around at them all. Ryan's eyes were a cloudy blue, and Carson's eyes were a deep chestnut brown. Tanner's eyes were grey. Thinking about it now, Lyndsey realized that Leah's eyes were also grey. And as Lyndsey already knew, Brandon's eyes were a sort of dull green. Her own eyes were hazel.

"Just ignore her. She'll never get through Gold Skull training." Carson said.

"Damn rights she won't." Ryan replied through gritted teeth. Lyndsey grabbed Tanner's arm and pulled, signalling that they had to go.

"Yeah, you're right. We have to get a move on." Tanner agreed. So they went off. They were bored, truth be told. There was nothing alive at all. So it was strictly burning. Lyndsey was about to take a break when she heard something in the woods.

xXxXxXx

"Uh..." Lyndsey said. Everyone stopped what they were doing immediately. They looked over as she backed slowly away from the tree line.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Brandon asked. Suddenly, after a loud rustle and a crash, the girl did a quick one-eighty turn and dashed away. The others followed her quickly.

"Grizzly!" She yelled. The unfamiliar voice startled everyone, causing them to move faster. They ran to the vehicles as fast as possible and climbed in. Once in the trucks, they saw the big brown bear. That thing was MAD. And it had nearly killed Lyndsey. The poor girl shook like crazy as her brother held her close, sitting in the back seat. Everyone was very glad that the vehicles were armoured. The bear snorted, and swung it's head back and forth. Then it stood up on its hind legs and roared angrily. When it fell back down, it padded back into the bushes, somehow knowing it wouldn't get past the amour on the trucks. Lyndsey's shaking quieted a little, but not by much.

"Hey, it's okay now, Sis. It's leaving." Brandon said softly. She nodded slowly, but didn't stop shaking.

"Well, that's all, luckily. We got the job done, so lets head back." The Black Skull that had driven them to the site said to the shocked teens as he took the wheel.

"Yeah. Everything's fine now. We're going home." Brandon told Lyndsey.

xXxXxXxXx

"Well, that wasn't the greatest of experiences. But we pulled through. Scared the shit outta me, though." Donaven said.

"I don't think _we_ should be the ones talking about being scared. Lyndsey was the one closest to death. Is she going to be okay?" Tanner asked. Lyndsey had been taken to the medical office for a checkup with the base's psychologist to see if her mental state was still stable after her near death experience.

"She's been through a far worse experience. She'll be fine I'm sure." Brandon told them.

"A far worse experience? What do you mean?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow at the tall boy.

"Lyndsey had to watch her parents be eaten by the Walkers. She had been hiding in a closet with only a pressurized pistol for defence. Her parents had gone out to kill the horde of them that had attacked their home. They were sure they'd killed them all, so they'd gone back to get her when two appeared out of nowhere and killed them." Brandon explained. The other boys gawked at him.

"So _that's_ why she doesn't talk…" Tanner's gaze fell to the ground.

"Wow, that's really rough. I… I don't even know what to say." Donaven was at a loss for words. Ryan simply turned away, his eyes filled with a mix of sadness and pain.

"Yeah. That's also why she changed her last name." Brandon added.

"Do you know her real last name?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. It's-"

"Maysage." Everyone turned suddenly to look at Lyndsey. She was much calmer now than she was before.

"Hey, are you okay?" Brandon asked. Lyndsey nodded.

"So you're not all screwed up in the head?" Tanner added. The girl shook her head. She would say no more. She was getting better with talking, but she was still silent most of the time. "Lyndsey Maysage, huh? Nice name, but Peck suits you better." Lyndsey smiled. Her last name would never be Maysage again, so she was glad her current one sounded better.

"Your name… It sounds like your parents had wished a great peace upon you." An unfamiliar voice with a British accent said.

"Oh, Shade. Hello, sir." Tanner instantly said. Lyndsey and Brandon turned. It was odd for them to not hear some kind of skull included in a name.

"Hello, Red Skull Willier. I take it these are the Red Skulls I haven't met yet. My name is Shade. I'm one of the White Skull instructors." He introduced.

"Ah, hello sir. I am Red Skull Brandon Peck, and this is my sister, Red Skull Lyndsey Peck." Brandon said rather shakily. A White Skull instructor was standing before them. This man was one of the people who made the White Skulls insane.

"Don't look so frightened, boy. Ve vill not hurt you." A Russian man's voice now said, again from behind. Everyone turned. "I am Major Demetri Polenski. I too am a Vhite Skull instructor." Another one! The Pecks could only wonder what was going on here.

"You two are gonna make them shit themselves. They've seen what we've done to the White Skulls." One last person, off to their left, that sounded normal. "My name is Sergeant James Penner, and yes, I am also a White Skull instructor." He introduced. Sgt James Penner was about 6'1, with brown buzz cut hair, a fairly wide face with rough stubble coating his jaw, a medium build with fair toned muscles (not slim, yet not bodybuilder amounts), white skin, with a slight farmer's tan, emerald green eyes and his uniform was a standard issue U.S. marine uniform with the tac vest, combat pants and combat boots. The combat tunic beneath the vest had a "1st battalion" insignia badge sewn on to his left shoulder, above his gold patch. He was American.

"But ve need to get to know those ve may train one day, _da? _Major Demetri Polenski was around 6'5, with completely cut down blonde hair, and a very slender face with a narrow chin. He was completely clean shaven, and had a large build with the muscles of a boxer (massive muscle tone on arms, legs and on neck). He was very pale, and had small, beady blue eyes. His uniform was blue, his tac vest was winter camouflage, and he wore blue combat pants, while the rest of his uniform was black, along with a ski mask, for either intimidation or winter conditions. He had an insignia of a bear with its jaws open with something written in Russian above and below the insignia.

"I think the major is the only one who'll scare them for real. For now, anyways." Shade was somewhere around 5'9, with black hair about 3 inches long, and a slight spike at the front. He had a fairly wide face with a few scars. He had fairly small build, with not much excess muscle, but he was more athletically built for mobility, and white skin which wasn't really pale or tanned. His eyes were hazel and his uniform was a very tight suit with special looking-boots, also having only a small tac vest for with knives, a sniper rifle, and some special waist holsters for handguns. He had no insignia on his uniform except for a cross hair he had above his skull. They all had White Skull patches and gold rectangles.

"They've got a long way to go. Anyways, it's nice to meet you finally. Are you two gonna be White Skulls?" Sgt. Penner asked. They nodded.

"We'll be the judges of that." Shade looked directly at the timid mute girl he was standing in front of. Lyndsey almost laughed. His eyes revealed everything. This guy was out of his mind. But she settled for a smirk, which was answered with a cocked eyebrow. "Don't get cocky, kid. You'll see one day that being arrogant will get you killed."

"Shade, we can't let out any hints about the training." Sgt. Penner punched Shade in the shoulder.

"Sirs! The commander is calling for you!" A White Skull yelled at the three instructors.

"This is our time to leave. It vill be good to train you vhen you reach Vhite Skull. Goodbye." Major Polenski spoke for all three of the instructors, and then they walked away. Shade looked over his shoulder at Lyndsey, gave her a smirk, and continued.

xXxXxXxXx

"Those instructors were pretty interesting, huh Sis?" Brandon asked. The siblings were sitting alone outside the chapel.

"Yeah. That Shade guy is absolutely insane, you know?" Lyndsey replied.

"Is he? I guess he was kinda off."

"Yeah."

"Hey, guys, what are you doing out here? We have a lesson soon." Coates appeared out of the briefing building. He had gone in to see what the church service was like.

"We were waiting for you." Brandon replied. "What was the service like?"

"Slow, stupid, and not to mention boring."

"I see. Well, c'mon. We can't be late. The commander is our teacher today." And so they left, headed for the Red Skull lesson room. They couldn't wait to be Gold Skulls. The lessons were all taught during training instead of just randomly. They'd learn everything they needed to in a condensed period of time. They walked over to the recently repaired lesson building. A Red Skull, who's name seemed to be Chandler Bates (who wasn't in their squad) decided to be an idiot and nearly blew up the whole corner of it. Upon entering, they found the disobedient boy still sitting at the front of the class, writing lines. The stack of papers next to him was immense. On top of writing lines all day, he had to eat what was left of the food everyone else ate, and only at the end of the day, meaning he hadn't eaten all day, and he was on probation for three weeks. This process would continue for the rest of his sentence, and had already been going on for four days. The stack of paper was only from today. At the end of the day, he had to watch all of the papers be shredded, then got sent to bed, only to restart the process in the morning. The siblings wouldn't lie, they felt bad for him, but he damn well deserved it. Irresponsible idiots would only bring the base down, and destroying the buildings would mean they needed to take the time to repair it. The three Red Skulls took their places at the desk in the back with Tanner and Ryan.

xXxXxXxXx

"Welcome, Red Skulls. I know that having me as your teacher is new, but this story is one that everyone needs to hear. It's a more detailed story as to how the base was created. And why we train the White Skulls to be how they are." The commander addressed them. The White Skull instructors were up front with him. Sgt. Penner took attendance quickly and they got right down to the point.

"There was a war," Penner began, "over an incredibly rare resource that is abundant here in Canada."

"Clean water. Most other water resources were too contaminated to drink safely. So, in order to take the place with the most clean water left in the world, Britain, Russia, and the United States of America attacked. The chapel had been formed long before the war as a way to protect people." Shade continued the tale.

"We had no choice but to retaliate. They just came at us. We called as many people as we could to arms, and fought back. The war took five years." The commander told them.

"In the end, no one survived. All the people had died. The four of us met in a final battle. Our guns were pointed at each other, but beyond that, we saw the destruction. We made a truce, considering the war was pointless now that everyone was dead. We found the chapel, and slowly transformed it into the place it is now, recruiting as many survivors as we could. Of course, there are those who do not believe that our way is effective. They are the bandits that attempt to kill us."

"So ve trained the Vhite Skulls to have a mental stability capable of killing vithout regret. This is vhy they are the vay they are. They need to keep those below them safe from those who vish us dead." Major Polenski said.

"Should you get as far as being eligible for White Skull training, be warned. It is something that many of you will not survive. The training is incredibly intense. In order for you to kill without regret, it is necessary first to break down your mental state. This is an extremely painful process." The commander informed the Red Skulls.

"Just be prepared for the worst possible situations and you'll be almost prepared for what it really is." Shade, ever insane, told them.

"Class dismissed." Sgt. Penner said. All the Red Skulls got up and left.

xXxXxXxXx

"Are they freaking serious? Is White Skull training _more_ than what's put out there? Tanner gawked. The whole group looked rather pale.

"I don't think I wanna find out anymore." Brandon replied.

"I still do… Kinda." Even Donaven couldn't hide his fear of what awaited them.

"I think…We should just go to the range and forget about that lesson for now." Ryan suggested.

"Agreed"

**A/N: And that's it! … Finally. I'm sorry for the huge wait everyone. Writer's block has been hitting me hard lately. That's why this chapter is a little shorter than the others, and that it's less eventful. I've got inspiration for the next one though, so it'll be a bit more interesting. Stay tuned and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay! This time around, we're going into Blue Skull work. And, a little surprise in store that will change the mood of the story forever. If I say any more, I'll ruin it for you, so just read and enjoy!**

**The Sound of Silence**

"And so, I'd like to promote Red Skull Coates, Red Skull Connolly, Red Skull Brandon Peck, Red Skull Lyndsey Peck, Red Skull Sorrio, and Red Skull Willer to the rank of Blue Skull." The commander announced, handing them all a new patch. A skull, blue in colour. The base cheered and clapped for the new Blue Skulls. They'd come so far, and now it was paying off. They'd get more kills now that they could go on clearing missions. Unfortunately, they knew that Red Skull Bates wasn't far behind them, and Leah was keeping up fairly well. The team of five ran down to meet Carson.

"So you guys finally caught up to me, huh?" He asked. He was still a Blue Skull, and had quite a few more kills to go. He still only had his bronze rectangle, meaning his squad didn't go on as many missions as before. All the previous Red Skulls had them too.

"Not quite. We have to match you in kills to actually catch up to you." Brandon replied.

"That's true. Anyways, lets head over to the mess hall and celebrate!"

"Yeah!" They all said. They began to move, but Lyndsey was caught by the shoulder. On instinct, she spun on her heels and threw her fist at the face she saw. It was stopped easily by Shade.

"You've got impressive reflexes there, Blue Skull. But that won't be enough of you want to be a White Skull. Don't worry about it though. Faster reaction time is something that's beaten into you during training." He told her. The girl blushed in embarrassment. "No need to be embarrassed. You've already got faster reflexes than a lot of the other Blues. Anyways, I came to discuss something with you." Lyndsey cocked an eyebrow. "Your house. Where was it?" Lyndsey motioned with her hands to describe the side of a mountain. "The side of a mountain. Your house was on a mountain?" Lyndsey nodded. "Was it near Dawson Creek?" The girl nodded again. "I found it." Lyndsey jerked away from the White Skull instructor. "I found a bunch of dead Walkers outside, as well as two inside, next to two half-eaten corpses. I also found family photos. I knew it was you because your face hasn't changed much." Lyndsey looked away. "Would you like me to retrieve your possessions?" Lyndsey looked back. "No pictures or anything, but just clothes and other things like that." The Blue Skull nodded. "And then what should I do with the rest of your house?" The look on Lyndsey's face said it all. "That house will look like the Sun by tomorrow afternoon." And with that, he left.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey Sis, what kept you?" Brandon asked as Lyndsey entered the mess hall. She simply smiled, filled a tray, and sat down.

"I think she got stopped by Shade." Ryan replied. Lyndsey nodded, confirming his answer.

"Oh. Well anyways, we're gonna head to the obstacle course later, okay?" Lyndsey nodded.

"Hey, Carson. What are clearing missions like?" Donaven asked the experienced Blue Skull.

"Scary as fuck. Especially on your first one. All of the zombies are still alive, and they're coming at you at different speeds. Usually the Gold or Black Skulls handle the running ones, but sometimes you have to. The higher ranks are actually there as lookouts for runners. And those things make you shit your pants, because they're fast. They don't feel pain, so going faster than should be possible doesn't affect them at all. But clearing missions are especially scary because your life is really on the line." He explained.

"Have you had to take out a runner?" Tanner asked.

"Yeah, a few. They're kinda hard to miss. They come barreling at you like grizzlies. But you guys already know what that looks like." Carson looked sympathetically at Lyndsey. She let out a small smile. "But yeah, you guys are probably gonna be shittin' kittens."

"Ah. Well that's pleasant." Ryan commented, the sarcasm kept subtle.

"Yeah. Anyways, are we going, or are we gonna sit here with empty trays?" Realizing that their lunch had been eaten, they dropped off their dishes and headed to the obstacle course.

xXxXxXxXx

Now that they weren't so depressed or too focused, they actually got a good look at exactly what it was they were doing. There were about four walls, obviously for jumping over, that increased in height, some old tires, monkey bars with fresh mud down below, a some ropes for swinging over a big puddle of mud, a rope bridge, again with mud below it, nets for army crawling under, posts that were out close together, obviously for maneuvering around, some targets to shoot at, another small wall, more targets, and a long stretch of dirt to dash across.

"Well now, if it isn't the losers who barely managed to get into Blue Skulls." That voice was getting too familiar for comfort. Leah had followed them, and now she had two lackeys. Some Red Skulls from squad five.

"Get a brain implant, Leah. We were the ones who surpassed the count. You're sitting right on it." Donaven instantly reacted. Leah had no comeback. She snapped her fingers and walked away, the other two prep girls following her like lost puppies. Then she turned.

"Hey, Lyndsey." The girl shot Leah a harsh look. "Why don't you race me?" Lyndsey cocked an eyebrow, then nodded briskly. They both set up at the start. Leah had the advantage for the walls, since she was taller, but Lyndsey wouldn't let that being her down. Ryan gave the signal to go, and they both shot of like bullets.

The first wall was easy. Lyndsey didn't even have to touch it. She just jumped it. The second one, the girl placed one hand on it, and jumped over. The third, she actually had to slightly hoist herself over. The there was the last one. It towered over Lyndsey about three feet. It was taller than Brandon! So she decided her best course of action would be to parkour it. She ran up the wall two steps and jumped. She realized quickly that it wasn't enough.

"No..." Brandon muttered. Just then, Lyndsey's fingers caught the top. Using the momentum of the sudden stop, she pulled as hard as she could, and with just one arm, sent herself flying over, even letting go of the wall at the peak of her jump. She landed firmly in a crouch, and looked ahead to find Leah about halfway through the tires, having some trouble. Lyndsey flew through them, having run like this when she played on the mountainside near her house. She jumped to grab the first monkey bar, and took them two at a time.. She swung off and looked back to see Leah speeding to catch up. The younger girl dashed to the ropes, jumped, grabbed one, and swung across. Then she reached the rope bridge. The top rope was too high up for her to reach for most of the obstacle!

"Oh for fuck's sake..." She cussed under her breath. She looked at the bottom rope, then back at the top one. She grabbed the top rope and traveled across normally until just before it was out of her reach. She she swung her legs up and wrapped them around the top rope. She crossed the whole bridge like this, dropping down when her feet could reach the bottom rope. She ran off, and dove into an army crawl, moving quickly. Leah was almost at her now. Lyndsey jumped up as soon as she was out and ran towards the posts. She grabbed them and swung around each one with amazing agility. She was a bit dizzy when she passed through the obstacle, but pulled her .22 off her back and fired five shots at her target. They all hit close to the centre despite her dizziness. The ran at the short wall (which was even shorter than the first one) jumped over it, somersaulted, and stopped in the standard crouching position for shooting. She fired another five rounds with the same results as the first target, and ran as fast as she could, replacing her rifle as she did. She fell to her knees at the finish, panting like a dog. She had won. She beat Leah fair and square. When Leah finished, she collapsed entirely, quickly met by her groupies. They hoisted her up and walked her away to get some water. Lyndsey was hoisted to her feet by Tanner, and he helped her to the benches. Brandon brought her a cup of water. She took it, flashing him a grateful smile.

"That was incredible, Lyndsey!" Ryan yelled. The girl blushed bright red and took a drink of her water.

"It's true. I thought you weren't gonna make that last wall, but you did it." Carson said. Lyndsey put down her cup, closed her eyes, and let her head drop. The poor girl was exhausted.

"Tired?" Brandon asked. Lyndsey hummed a confirmation, and felt herself be lifted bridal style. She rested her head against the shoulder of her brother, feeling completely safe, and in a split instant, fell asleep.

"Did she just pass out?" Donaven chuckled.

"Yes, so be quiet!" Brandon hissed in a friendly sort of way. The tall boy looked down at his sleeping sister. She looked so peaceful. He felt as though nothing could get her as long as she was like this. His gaze softened. It was hard to believe she was older than him. He had always taken the role of older sibling, but that was because her experience had probably stunted her growth in independence. It didn't matter to Brandon. As long as she was alright, he'd be alright.

"Lets get her outta here. I'm sure they'll let you into the girl's barracks. Remember, she's in the farthest one back now." Carson reminded Brandon.

"Yeah, I know."

xXxXxXxXx

The girls had let Brandon in to put Lyndsey to bed. Her stuff, courtesy of some of the nicer girls, had been neatly organized in her barrack box and locker. She was sleeping on the top of her bunk, so he reached up and placed her down gently, ensuring she wouldn't be uncomfortable. Then he left.

"She alright?" Tanner asked. They were headed out to the range next.

"Yeah. The girls organized her stuff for her as well."

"I bet the guys didn't do that for us."

"Nope. Which means we have to go get it ourselves." Brandon laughed. They reached the range in seemingly no time.

"Hey guys!" Ryan greeted happily.

"Hey Ryan! What's up?" Brandon high-fived him.

"Carson and Donaven are having a shooting contest." The shorter guy replied.

"Awesome. Maybe I'll challenge the loser."

"That would be cool. Hey, Willier, you wanna go?" Ryan turned to the other boy.

"Yeah, lets do it." Tanner replied. The two pulled their rifles off their backs, and found two empty targets. It was a little while until Large and Coates finished, but in the end, Donaven was the victor. So Brandon set up to go against Carson.

"You sure about this? It was a close competition." Large asked. All Brandon did was grin at him. "Whatever, Brandon." And their contest began. A little while later, Carson came out on top, winning by one point.

"That was closer than ours! We had a three point difference." Donaven congratulated.

"Awesome! So we know now that Donaven is the best shooter in our group." Tanner said. Donaven fist-pumped. The boys laughed and shot for a few hours, then decided to go for supper.

xXxXxXxXx

"Mmph." Lyndsey grunted. Her eyes fluttered open a bit, then closed again. Then opened. She was in her barracks. She looked around. Her NEW barracks. What had happened again? Right, she'd raced Leah at the obstacle course, then fell asleep in her brother's arms. He must've brought her here.

"Hey, welcome back." A girl Lyndsey didn't know said. She looked over at where the voice came from. A girl with glasses and too many freckles was reading a book. "You're Peck, right?" Lyndsey nodded. "Cool. Your brother brought you in. Your stuff is already in your barrack box and locker." Lyndsey nodded again. "Okay. Well I think your friends are probably at dinner by now." Lyndsey nodded once more, then swung off her bed. Just as she was opening the door, the girl called out again. "Congratulations on beating Sorrio! She needs to learn her place." Lyndsey, turned, smiled, and left.

xXxXxXxXx

"Hey, Lyndsey!" Donaven greeted the girl when she walked in. She skipped over to the table and beamed at her friends.

"Good to see you. Did you sleep well?" Tanner asked. Lyndsey nodded.

"Okay, well you should get something to eat." Ryan told her. So she did. They explained to her everything that happened at the range while she was sleeping as they ate. Then they went outside.

"Hey, guys. I just got news. Your first clearing mission could be tomorrow, if you want." Carson said as he came out of the mess hall. Lyndsey grinned as if she'd never grinned before. Her hazel eyes were alive with light. "Ha, looks like Lyndsey's already decided." The girl nodded quickly.

"I think we all have. You all up for it?" Donaven asked. Everyone nodded. "See? We're all going on our first clearing mission tomorrow!" Donaven practically jumped for joy. Even after being warned about shittin' kittens earlier in the day, they couldn't help but be excited. They were actually going to kill stuff. The whole reason for coming here was about to become reality. And they had never felt so ready for anything in their entire lives.

"Well, if we're going out there, we should probably get some sleep, huh?" Tanner noted.

"Yeah, you're right. You'll at least try, right Lyndsey? I mean, you've been sleeping for hours already." Ryan turned to her. Lyndsey nodded.

"Okay. Let's go."

xXxXxXxXx

"Good morning, Blue Skulls. Today, for the new Blue Skulls, it is your first ever clearing mission. And rest assured, you're all going to need a spare pair of underpants, 'cause you're going to shit a brick." Sgt. Penner told them. Again, they were warned about how scared they would be. The room was all Blue and Gold Skulls. And much to the group's dismay, Leah had also decided to come on this mission. Not that it mattered to them, but she had better hope her instincts said "shoot" instead of "freeze". They received a very brief… Briefing. The mission was on the outskirts of Dawson Creek, close to an old burnt down building. Apparently, overdone bodies of children attracted Infected well. The Pecks knew exactly where the mission was located. And they almost backed out when they received this information. It was their orphanage. The one where they had met all those years ago. But they stayed, and hoped they wouldn't regret going.

"Hurry up, Blue Skulls! We don't have all day!" A Gold Skull called. They were all running towards the trucks. The group of five hopped into one, and was the third vehicle out of the base. Carson was in the truck ahead. The Pecks weren't too excited about where they were going, but they weren't going to back down. In a few hours, they were there. At the place where two best friends met for the first time. The group jumped out immediately, but the Peck siblings held back a bit. They sent worried looks at each other, then walked towards the building.

The undead creatures were everywhere! They were up and "alive", walking around! Donaven almost shit his pants right then and there.

"Holy fuck, those guys are scary as shit." Tanner muttered to Ryan. The other boy was pale in the face, and could only nod. The only half-calm people were the Pecks. They had already seen living zombies in their pasts. But never this many at once.

"Scared?" Everyone almost jumped out of their skins. Carson laughed under his breath at their reactions.

"You stupid fucker! Don't do that!" Ryan hissed.

"I couldn't help myself. You all looked like statues." He continued to laugh

"That wasn't very appropriate, Carson." In an instant, his laughter died. He actually looked a bit ashamed as he turned his gaze to Lyndsey, his eyes apologetic. She simply nodded, then turned back to the monsters they were supposed to kill. She forced her mind to stay on topic, because she knew she would start to wonder about their lives if she let it wander. And that would make her task difficult. They heard a gun fire, and one of the Walkers dropped. That was the signal.

The group rushed in as fast as they could, pulling their rifles off their backs. They kept a good distance away and picked off the Infected, making sure they got headshots so the zombies actually died. Others actually rushed into the fray. Everything was running smoothly until the expected happened.

"Ah! Help!" Leah cried out. Lyndsey was on her feet in an instant and ran towards where the voice had come from. Leah was surrounded, and her rifle lay off to the side. Lyndsey got down onto one knee, and sniped three of Leah's attackers in the heads. Leah didn't move to take the opening, so Lyndsey gave her a jolt.

"Run, you stupid bitch! Run!" Lyndsey screamed. Leah jumped, then dashed away as fast as she could. She somehow managed to grab her .22 in the process. Lyndsey picked off the rest of them, putting her total count as a Blue Skull to thirty-one.

"Lyndsey, behind you!" She heard someone yell. She couldn't place the  
voice at the time, but she spun around quickly. When she saw what she did, she dropped her .22 in fright. A runner, coming straight at her. Luckily, her survival instincts kicked in. She grabbed her pistol and ran right back at it, causing everyone who saw to almost freeze up themselves. At the last second, Lyndsey maneuvered slightly to the right, jumped, and slammed the bottom of her pistol, right where one would insert the magazine, into the side of the Walker's head. Hard. The thing collapsed from the impact, and upon landing, Lyndsey cocked the pistol, pointed it at the undead monster's head, and pulled the trigger. All without looking. She holstered the handgun, and went back to retrieve her rifle. When the mission ended, she was bombarded with questions from her friends.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"How did you do that?!"

"What were you thinking?!"

"Do you realize how close you came to dying?!"

"Why would you do something like that?!"

"Sis, what happened?" It was her brother's voice that pulled her from her own head. Truth was, she didn't have answers to any of those questions. It was just instinctive. She'd had no control over what she'd been doing, and her consciousness had shut down in the process. It was almost as if she had passed out, and had still been fully aware of everything. She just shook her head in response to all their questions.

"You… don't know?" Carson asked, understanding. Lyndsey nodded.

"How do you not know?!" Donaven demanded. He received a swift elbow to  
the gut, and immediately fell silent.

"That was pretty impressive, actually. I've never seen anyone react like that to a zombie running full speed at them." Carson continued. "Most just scream and run to the nearest higher rank, or shoot it from a distance." Lyndsey looked away, not knowing whether blushing would be appropriate for this situation or not.

"Hey, the Green Skulls are here. Looks it's time to go." Ryan pointed out. Turning, they almost laughed at the gas masks they wore, then remembered that they looked like that once. They all got into the armoured trucks, exhausted. Lyndsey kept her head down, and immediately saw something interesting. It was a hat. A hat Lyndsey remembered far too well. She leaned down and picked it up, her suspicions confirmed. It was the hat worn by the leader of the group of boys that used to pick on her when she lived in the orphanage. It was a basic camouflage mariner's cap, and it was covered in blood and dirt. Yet somehow, it wasn't burned in the slightest. Lyndsey looked it over, shoved it quickly into her pocket, and got into the vehicle with her friends.

xXxXxXxXx

The next day, they all got the day off. Plus it was Saturday, so that went for the whole base as well. Everyone got relax. Only the Black and White Skulls had to be aware of anything. They would be the ones called out for emergencies. So no one else had to worry. Lyndsey had put the mariner's cap through the wash, and it had come out looking as good as new. She had put her name on the inside in the neatest writing she could manage and now she was wearing it. Brandon had recognized it as well, and questioned her about it. But after a short conversation, he dropped the subject. No one else bothered to ask, much to her great relief.

"Hey, Lyndsey?" Brandon asked. She looked at him. The group was their usual hangout spot, and she was sitting as she usually did. On the desk, with her feet crossed at the ankles. Her hair was tied back in a low ponytail, and the hat added a good asset to her overall look. "Why did you pick up the hat in the first place?" The look she gave him spoke enough. She wanted something to remind her that her past was irrelevant. It was for the same reason she changed her last name. "Alright. I'll actually drop it this time."

"Hey, Peck!" The words 'Oh for fuck's sake' ran through the head of every member of the group's heads as Leah walked forward towards Lyndsey. The girl tilted her head at the other girl. "I could've gotten away myself you know! You didn't have to step in and be a hero. In fact, doing that just made you look like a self-righteous bitch." And the cussing began.

"Listen, Leah. Even I saw you. You were frozen to the spot as those Walkers surrounded you. You even called out for help! So you should be thanking Lyndsey for saving your sorry ass!" Brandon immediately stepped in. But Leah wasn't in the mood to stand down this time.

"You shut your mouth! Every day you guys stand up for her as if she can't fight her own battles! But she can! All you're doing is preventing the inevitable! Brandon Peck you receive praise for things you barely even did. You're not even that good of a soldier! Your parents were turned into zombies! That's fan-fucking-tastic! No one cares, Brandon. No one cares about your stupid sister or your stupid problems, and they definitely don't care about your sorry ass! You are useless, you motherfucking Stillborn!" That was taking it too far. Everyone got onto the defensive. In these times, calling someone a Stillborn was the biggest insult you could hand out.

"You better learn to watch your tongue, Leah Sorrio, or else someone will cut it off." A dark voice came from Lyndsey's direction. The girl's head was down, and you could barely see her eyes under the rim of her cap. The shadow cast across them was rather frightening, but it didn't hide the glint of murder inside. Lyndsey was not happy. She hopped down from the desk, and took a few steps to look up directly at the taller girl. But the look she was being given made Leah feel far shorter. The prep quivered a little. "You'd better listen closely because there's a likely chance I won't repeat this. If you thought for even a second that you were better than any of us, think again. You have just barely managed to scrape by, screaming bloody murder at every Walker you've ever seen move. You have _no_ right _whatsoever_ to insult _anyone_ around here! If you _ever_ insult my brother again, I will crush your windpipe. I heard that its a very cruel way to die, because you don't go instantly. You sit there, fighting for air, knowing that you can't get any. And then you die, choking on nothing." Leah said nothing, but walked away with terror filled eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Umm... Lyndsey?" Brandon asked quietly, afraid to say much.

"She needs to learn her place. That was ridiculous! Calling you a Stillborn. Stupid bitch." Lyndsey's tone changed. It wasn't as dark, and it lost that malicious hint. Now it was... Rudely sarcastic? Brandon didn't understand. Lyndsey had never been sarcastic, and she'd definitely never been rude!

"Umm... Yeah..." Lyndsey turned to look at her friends, and cocked an eyebrow at them in amusement.

"What's wrong? You guys look like you've seen a talking zombie." She said with a smirk.

"Almost as scary." Tanner whispered to Donaven.

"Ah, n-no. We're fine..." Ryan replied.

"Sure you are. Anyways, I'm hungry. Wanna go for lunch?" The group nodded, getting a little colour back in their faces. This would be a very new aspect in their lives if it kept up. But that didn't necessarily mean it would be a bad thing either. Everyone was looking forward to how this event would change things in their lives.

**A/N: Ooh, I'm evil. But yeah, our mute ain't so mute anymore! I can't believe I write that much dialogue for Lyndsey. But this changes the whole atmosphere of the story for me, and maybe even for you. It's a little less quiet in the group now. I hope you liked this chapter! Next chapter we'll get a little taste of what actual rank training is like, and see how our characters handle it. So please, stay tuned and review! I'm really out of my comfort zone, so I need feedback!**


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